Wigan witnesses a political breakthrough as the first Reform candidate is elected to the council
Voters in Wigan have delivered a resounding snub to the council’s controlling Labour group by electing the town’s first Reform UK councillor.
Ex-Royal Military Policeman Lee Moffitt swept to victory by 421 votes in the Wigan Central ward by-election in the seat left vacant following the death of Labour’s stalwart member George Davies.
Father of five sons Mr Moffitt polled 1,391 with his closest rival, Adam Boon, for Labour, gaining 970 votes.
After being pronounced the winner the 57-year-old, who now runs several businesses, said the town’s “hopes and thoughts should be with all the people affected by the terror attack in Manchester earlier in the day.”
“Some things are above politics,” he said. However, he went on to say: “I’d like to think that my role right now is to work with the current council because I think we will all work towards one goal, and that’s to benefit the people of Wigan.
“And I think hopefully it can pave the way for more Reform councillors, come the May elections next year.”
He added: “It’s been an arduous few weeks [in the run-up to yesterday’s by-election]. I’d like to thank my fellow candidates who fought a clean fight.
“Now the work begins. It’s time for me to repay the faith that people of Wigan have shown in me, and work as hard as possible to improve their lives.
“I’ve got five sons - a five-a-side team - and two granddaughters. They are primarily the reason why, at the age of 57, I’m calling on houses on a dark September evening to try to gain voters’ support.
“Because I’m not immediately going to benefit from this, but the next generation, hopefully, will.”
It was a predictably miserable night for the Conservatives, with their candidate, Paul Martin, polling only 151, and the Liberal Democrats suffered an equally disappointing night, with John Burley getting just 109 votes.
Wigan Independent Gareth Fairhurst fared marginally better with 196, and the Greens’ Simon Rowlands polled 130. The turn-out was 30.9 per cent.
The result leaves Labour with a dominant 62 councillors, the Conservatives have one, and there is a cohort of 10 Independents and now a Reform member.